How to Delete the Windows.old Folder in Windows 10

When you upgrade your Windows installation from Windows 7 or 8.1 you might notice a Windows.old folder in your C:\ drive. Windows keeps an old version of your operating system on your PC in case you are not happy with Windows 10 and want to revert back. Now if you feel you are happy with Windows 10 you are going to want to delete that folder as it takes of several GB’s of space on your system. If you just try and delete the folder Windows won’t let you as it thinks many of the files are system files. No fear though, we are going to show you how to delete the Windows.old folder and free up some space in your system!

How to Delete the Windows.old Folder in Windows 10

How to Delete the Windows.old Folder in Windows 10

1. Type in “Free up disk space” in the Windows search box and click the control panel shortcut for freeing up disk space.

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2. Disk Selection for Disk Cleanup will come up, make sure the drive your have Windows 10 installed on is selected and click “OK”.

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3. One the Disk Cleanup window comes up click on the “Clean up system files” button towards the bottom of the window.

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4. Once you click the button the drive selection will come back up, again make sure your Windows 10 installation drive is selected.

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5. Now you will have the option to select “Previous Windows Installation(s). Select it by checking the box next to it, ours happened to be 9.32 GB. The Click “OK”.

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6. One you hit “OK” Windows will ask you if you are sure if you want to delete these files, hit “Delete Files” to permanently remove them.

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7. Disk Cleanup will start and you are once again prompted letting you know that you will no longer be able to revert back to previous versions of Windows. Click “Yes” to continue.

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8. Disk Cleanup will take anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes to complete depending on the size of your Windows.old folder.

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Once completed your Windows.old folder will be gone and you will be left with more disk space. If you have any questions about removing the Windows.old folder from Windows 10 or you are having any issues getting the folder deleted leave a comment below!

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